1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus having a light-emitting apparatus capable of moving between a retracted position and a light-emitting position, and in particular to a technique of reducing impact when the light-emitting apparatus stops at the light-emitting position in a case where the light-emitting apparatus is moved from the retracted position to the light-emitting position using a tension of an elastic member.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known an image pickup apparatus having a light-emitting apparatus (hereafter referred to as “the electronic flash”) capable of moving between a retracted position and a light-emitting position. As an example of a method to move the electronic flash, there is known a motor drive system that moves the electronic flash by a gear connected to a motor as a drive source. As another example of a method to move the electronic flash, there is known a spring drive system that moves the electronic flash using a tension of a spring member or the like urged toward the light-emitting position. In either of these drive methods, the electronic flash is commonly moved in one of two moving modes: a rectilinear mode in which it moves in a straight line in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis and a rotary mode in which it rotatively moves about a predetermined axis.
In any of the arrangements described above, when the moving electronic flash is stopped by colliding it with a stopper portion provided in a camera body, a collision noise is generated and also, a vibration noise and a reverberation noise are generated in the whole of a camera, and these noises give a user a feeling of discomfort.
Accordingly, for example, there has been adopted a construction in which a stopper portion of a camera body which receives the moving electronic flash is provided with an elastic member such as sponge so as to reduce collision noise. Also, there has been proposed a construction in which a stopper portion for receiving and stopping a guide pin that moves with the electronic flash is comprised of an elastic member, and this stopper portion is held outside a projection range of a direction in which the guide pin moves, so that impact can resist being transmitted to the whole of a camera (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2011-48249).
However, the above prior arts have problems that when the electronic flash is moved in the rotary mode, deformation of the stopper portion occurring as the number of use increases degrades the positional accuracy of a housing for the electronic flash. When the positional accuracy of the housing for the electronic flash decreases, the angle of a direction in which light is emitted to a subject deviates, which may cause the contrast of a taken image to be uneven. On the other hand, the stiffness of the elastic member is increased to some extent so as to improve the positional accuracy of the housing for the electronic flash, and it is thus thought that obtaining high silencing performance is difficult.
Here, irrespective of whether the electronic flash is of the rectilinear type or the rotary type, it is thought that when an elastic member such as sponge is used for the stopper portion, higher silencing performance can be obtained as compared to elastomer and silicon rubber. However, such a material becomes permanently distorted to a large degree particularly when left in a high-temperature environment, and a high degree of positional accuracy is difficult to obtain. This problem will be more apparent if the thickness of such a material is increased so as to obtain higher silencing performance.